MEMORY CARD: DARK SOULS
Arise, Chosen Undead – it’s your tenth birthday.
The kingdom of Lordran has fallen, and you are a revenant cursed to resurrect again and again in this land until you lose your mind – a process known as hollowing. When it comes to high fantasy, this is as grimdark as it gets.
Known for its tough combat and novel death and multiplayer mechanics, as well as often-implicit storytelling, Dark Souls is regarded by many players as one of the best games of all time. Reader John Bonas is one of them, describing it as “Awe inspiring.” Seamus Bolton is of a similar opinion, adding, “Praise the sun.” Damien Dallas tells us, “[It’s my] all time fav.” However, the challenge leaves others cold.
DEARLY DEPARTED
If you’ve yet to arise as a chosen undead, we’ll explain: your experience points are the same thing as your cash. When you die, you drop everything not already spent. Resurrecting in hollow form with half health, you have one chance to retrieve your loot from the spot you were felled – muck it up and it’s gone for good. This, combined with slow combat, means mistakes are punished hard.
Daniel Winter reflects, “It wasn’t my cup of tea. I can see why people like it, though.”
Jassen LaPlant is less charitable: “Yeah, it was terrible. Demon’s Souls was way better and I didn’t really like that game that much.”
But the challenge is part of the Souls series’ enduring appeal. Andrew Ritter notes netting Dark Souls’ Platinum trophy is a serious undertaking but concludes, “[It’s] one of the games I wish I could wipe from my memory and play again.”
Mark Anderson has that enviable experience awaiting him. He writes, “I missed this during my gaming-free years. So much to catch up on and explore! I’ll order it right now for my PS4.” We hope you love Lordran as much as we do!